No provision against cat entertainment

The forest officials said they were in the know of illegal lion shows and were waiting for an opportunity to strike. However, despite catching the offenders red handed in Ghariyar village in Amreli, the act provided them legal protection. The wildlife protection act does not have any provision against lion shows outside the sanctuary. Officials said that when they raided the ongoing lion show, the offenders challenged them stating that the premises was the private field which was not in their jurisdiction. They also brazenly sought compensation for the ox killed by the lion during the show. The foresters' investigation had found that the slain ox had been used as a bait.

"When we inquired about the Maharastra and Rajkot passing car, the villagers showed us the tourists who had allegedly gathered for the lion show and stated they were their guests. It was a telltale evidence, yet we couldn't do anything as there is no provision against such shows in the wildlife protection act," said a forester.

Scrutiny of the data revealed that around 40% of the compensations awarded were for weak or old cattle. "Recently the department had decided to computerize the data and after the records were checked, the department found that around Rs 60 lakh were paid annually for the compensation of the cattle killed by the lions in the revenue area," he said.